


Corruption

by the_fandom_fangirl



Category: Just Shapes And Beats
Genre: Angst, Feels, Fluff and Angst, HES A FUCKING DRAGON BOIIIS LESSSSGOOOOOOOOOOO, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pain, Transformation, ao3 tags of the day do you see me yet, just shapes and beats - Freeform, obscure fandom? likely.
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-13
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2019-08-01 13:50:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16285766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_fandom_fangirl/pseuds/the_fandom_fangirl
Summary: Corruption.Noun.the process of decay; putrefaction.---Voxel has had a rough go of a redemption. He's finally able to walk out the door and live without flying into a rage or deciding to re-enact the incident. But his new life is under threat by faces he feels like he should remember. IT's up to the Legendary Shapes and some other faces to save the Corrupted Boss... Before his past consumes him entirely.





	1. The first step.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Voxel learns that karma seems to have it's kiss for him.

**_Corruption._ ** ****__  
**_Noun._ ** **_  
_ ** ****_the process of decay; putrefaction._

The sun shone brightly, lighting the dew on the grass up as if they were miniature fairy lights. Dawn was breaking on the islands, and they were waking up. For a certain Boss, it was far from a ‘beautiful morning’. Voxel awoke to a splitting headache, birds singing loudly, and the radio playing downstairs. The space under his pillow did very little to muffle the music when he attempted to solve the problem without moving from his cosy spot. The peace of the morning was gone rather quickly.  
He tossed the bed item at the wall in frustration, slamming open his window and furiously yelling at the birds in the tree outside.  
**_“SHUT UP YOU FEATHERY FUCKS!”_ **  
Immediately he could hear Cube downstairs reprimanding him for his language. Fucking blue softy. If he wasn’t the guy who’d tried to kill almost everything he might’ve been happier to be ‘roommates’ with two of the people who’d stopped him.  
And gotten redeemed.  
Scratch that last part. Sleeping in a bed rather than the cave was heaps better. A mattress was a better resting place than a slab of lumpy rock.

After a few minutes of lying in bed with the pillow jammed back over his head, Voxel heaved himself up again. The pain in his head was a little less now and as much as he wanted to not go and interact with things that could talk there wasn’t much option if he was hungry.  
With a slumped back he groped along the wall and made his way down the stairs. Upon getting low enough that he wouldn’t shatter a floorboard he grabbed the railing and hopped over, causing the coat rack beside the staircase to fall over again.  
Square leaned back on his chair in the kitchen to view him through the doorway and gave him the dirtiest look he’d ever been given in his life. Oh wait, the sec- no… actually, it wasn’t much different from all the other times he’d been given one. If he remembered rightly, Pentagon gave the worst glares.  
Picking up the rack and setting it down on the floor with a thump, Voxel ducked under the doorway to see Cube chowing down on cereal and Square with his usual toast and coffee. The sight of the food made his stomach start rumbling audibly.  
Square snorted, earning one of Voxel’s own patented ‘I really should’ve killed you’ glares. Cube smiled as he saw Voxel, oblivious to the mild conflict as usual.  
“Morning! Did you sleep well?”  
“Until I woke up? Yeah. Splittin’ Treeangle damned headache.”  
“Karma,” Square muttered as he drank from his mug. Less than a second later he choked a little on the hot liquid.  
“Yeah, guess it is karma Blue. Tell me how your coffee tastes again?”  
The two would have begun an argument if Cube hadn’t interrupted like usual with a cough. Voxel grumbled and got to making a bowl of cereal. He didn’t have the mood to put up with the cooker to make bacon right then.

With the short meal (and subsequent cleaning up) finished, Voxel kicked the front door open with his foot and walked out with the door slamming behind him much to his headache’s displeasure. He groaned and rubbed his temples. Treeangle above could he just go through the day without something shitty happening? All he wanted to do was take a walk on his own. Might help soothe his headache. His walk to the cliff was short. As he gazed over the edge, if he squinted he could just about make out the cave he used to hang around in. He turned his head to look back. As usual, he could see the Treeangle in its annoyingly bright glory with birds flying around it.  
He couldn’t help but feel a bit bitter. Of course, it let the fucking flying rodents onto itself and rejected his presence when he held or came near it even after ‘redeeming’ himself. Then again he had corrupted it…

Voxel stared at his hand, the black marking in the middle of it, the spikes going up his arms. Corruption. Fucking corruption. Stupid shit. He hated it before after he realised no amount of cleansing removed it. And he hated it after with what it ended up turning him into in the end. His whole body completely different and wrong. But the power he’d gained blinded him to the fact. All he could think about back then was…  
He grimaced and held his head.  
His headache was throbbing again. Worse, now.

He sat on the ground and pulled his knees up to rest his arms on them. The darkness from the shade his body cast didn’t help. Neither did the muffled sound.  
Why did he have to be the one to suffer from the god damn-  
Voxel yelped and pulled one hand away from his head. He stared at the palm, with it now bearing a neat cut near the thumb. He pressed on it to try and stem the bleeding from the minor wound, quickly checking his sore head for whatever had-  
He lifted his hand with a hiss. It felt like he’d cut it open. His pink blood stained the probing fingers and now he was aware of it he could feel it slowly dripping down his head. With more, gentle probing, he felt two smaller horns had poked through between his usual curved pair.

 _What the fuck._ _  
_ **_What the fuck._ **

He wiped his hand on the grass panicked and afraid. As if wiping it away would remove the existence of the horns that had sprouted on his head. The grass he touched turned a dark magenta with the contact of the blood and he pulled away sharply upon seeing the corruption. He didn’t know he could do that.  
He tried to move the liquid off the plants, but he only ended up succeeding in spreading it further. He looked at his hand again and tried wiping it on his clothes instead. Much to his relief, it worked a great deal better than doing it on the grass. But the fact that he could corrupt with his own blood… It worried him almost as much as the strange horns.

He let out another pained cry when he suddenly felt his arms burning. All the way down to his fingers. The several circles that made up his arm structure were getting a little sharper and were getting lumpier on certain areas. The skin split open on each large point that had suddenly been brought through the centre of most of the spheres which sent more blood to trickle down his arms. The boss grabbed his hand, a muffled yell coming from between his teeth at the agony slowly spreading through his arms and up into his torso. He arched his back with a keening cry as his shirt ripped along the spines now starting to begin pushing through. He couldn't think straight, his mind was a mess, it hurt so much-

**Cube. And the blue- he had to talk- they would know what to do they always did-**

He screamed as he got to his feet, his vision filling with stars as he made his way to the house and tried to stop his blood leaving a trail of corruption in his wake. It didn't work. No doubt they'd use the treeangle pieces or something to fix it later, but the sight of it left him feeling sick. He stumbled through the door with tears running down his face despite his best efforts in trying not to cry, and his whole body now under the change’s influence.

He had to abandon his boots halfway from the large claws threatening to tear them apart like the back of his already straining shirt. His arms had sort of moulded into each other like segments or armour, and he could tell he already had a second pair of appendages growing in. He'd grown taller, and a long spiked tail was tearing a hole through his jeans. Just like- Nonono, this couldn't be happening-

He fell to the ground in the living room doorway, screaming out.

**“C- CUUu b E-!!! HeLLLp…!!!”**

Even his voice was changing. It sounded like it was echoing, deeper and raspier, but the latter effect was likely caused by his screaming.

He heard two pairs of footsteps running down the stairs and a horrified half-scream. Fluent cursing followed and two pairs of hands started to help move the boss to a couch. His vision was still blurry yet clear enough to identify the two shades of blue he’d grown familiar to.

His hands gripped the couch like it was a lifeline and punctured the fabric with the tight hold added to his new claws. He could see one blurry blue shape come close, and put a hand on his forehead. The boss couldn't help but flinch, as his head was still sore from the growing pairs of horns atop his head. He hated it.

Cube (at least he was sure it was them) removed two familiar shapes from atop their head and rubbed them together like he'd seen them do when-

“Don't think about it. Try to breathe.”

A hand (Square, he knew that voice anywhere, even now it sounded so concerned) put itself on his shoulder. He only noticed that he had been sobbing when he had to take a breath. He thrashed on the couch and let loose another screech as he felt his face get assaulted by the agony again. He was dimly aware of the sensation of something pulling forward, something shifting, and a few things splitting. When he stopped screwing his eyelids shut he noticed immediately the depth perception had changed. He had two eyes.

More cursing from Square soon came about.

He felt something pressed onto his chest and a shock like lightning go right through his system. He couldn't understand what was happening through the tightly closed eyes and gritted his teeth- He noticed his jaw had split down the middle. Two long spikes poked out either side. Mandibles. A similar pair was already on his tail's armoured end. He felt sick to his stomach. The shock did nothing to him with the change still steadily advancing. Suddenly, he began thrashing and screaming as all four of his arms fully stretched out into the strange segmented shape. They began getting sharper and his shoulder blades were stretched out into wicked points as spines pushed through.

His legs snapped and crunched as his ankles moved up and his thigh and calf bones shortened and lengthened respectively to move them to a digitigrade position. He rolled off the couch and onto the floor with a strangled wheeze and moan from the burning fire blazing through his fingers and arms.  
**“OH fUcK OH FUCkING GoD WHat THe FucK-”**

He gritted his teeth and screamed as claws began to push out and get sharper, longer. It hurt, it hurt so much.

With claws digging into the carpet, the Shapes managed to dislodge the sharper digits and get him outside. They moved quickly, and just before Voxel hit another growth spurt they got him out the door. They had to move out of the way as his limbs, old and new, began to thrash around in the grass almost in tandem with his screaming. As he flailed about there on the ground, a large pink patch developed on the grass as his blood dripped down onto it.

He curled up and gripped his head as his jaw began to stretch outwards into a snout, lined with sharp and slightly crooked teeth. His face felt like someone was taking a sledgehammer to it and putting it all back together in a different way with hot iron moulds and tools. The screams rapidly moved into agonised roars, growls and snarls. His shirt and pants fell off, little more than scraps of fabric and unneeded with the animal-like form he was shifting into, revealing lumpy shapes going all the way up his neck from his waist. He reared and arched his back as the spikes on his back grew larger and his horns reached out further. Another pair of eyes formed and spikes ran up the middle of his forehead.

His only thoughts were how much it all hurt so much. The lumps on his stomach burst through, an armour plating with sharp spines poking through either side of it all.

All of it overseen by a horrified Square and Cube. 

Finally, finally, the changes stopped, and Voxel let out a roar that shook the windows and could be heard all across the islands. He collapsed onto the ground, shaking it like an earthquake. He was as big, if not bigger than the two-story home they shared.

One exhausted and afraid eye opened half-lidded, watching Cube come closer, and a hesitant Square in the background. They put their hand on his face, unafraid and hugged the large creature he now was with no fear.

“Vox… What have you gotten into…?”

* * *

 

(Here's what everyone looks like! Some drawings aren't done yet though. They will be added in time.)


	2. Bad news.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which news is shared that Voxel does not want to hear, and the world takes notice.

Voxel lay on the ground with his eyes shut and Cube sitting beside him. Square had gone to find the other shapes in hope one of them might have a better idea of what to do in a situation like this. It was a long shot, but it was the best that he could do right now. It was the best any of them could do with how things had turned out.   
Voxel had objected very strongly to the idea of using the Treeangle to try and return him to normal too when it was suggested, so they were unable to use it lest they risk him freaking out or something. A huge and terrified dragon-bug thing was not any kind of situation that anyone wanted to deal with.   
He’d not been able to speak since the change had taken place much to his annoyance and the annoyance of everyone trying to understand him.

He had to concentrate rather hard to understand what people to him as well. It was as if his brain had been awkwardly rewired to understand something else. He had no clue what exactly that ‘something’ was.

All he was concerned about was how it made concentrating on words ten times harder on top of the enhanced senses he’d gained alongside it.

Speaking of senses, he felt Cube patting his- his muzzle. The fact he was using that as a term felt weird. HIS muzzle. Whatever.   
With a small grumble, he opened one eye to look at the comparatively miniscule figure next to him.

He immediately noticed that their visor? Glasses? Whatever, and their mask had changed to the sad face he’d first seen them with. More importantly, he could see tears tracking down their face from underneath. The boss nudged the hand that had made its way onto his face with a worried moan. Cube sniffed, looking down as they wiped their eyes under the glasses.   
“S-sorry... “ They mumbled into their sleeve. “I- I just… you looked l-like you were hurting so much… a-and I didn’t know what to do… the fragments d-didn’t help either…”   
Voxel rolled his eyes and grumbled.  With one small movement of the head, he nudged Cube to the side slightly and curled around him. Did the guy ever not cry? He didn’t want to listen to that. Especially since his head and in all honesty, the rest of his body was giving him a hell of a time right now.   
Apparently turning into a giant monster had an effect on how sore you could get. Big fucking surprise there. Cube leaned against Voxel, one hand running along the behemoth's jaw.   
“Thank you…”   
Voxel grunted, avoiding eye contact and staring ahead. Cube’s mask showed a smile again and they laughed, albeit a bit dryly.

“I’m guessing you would be saying  _ ‘whatever’ _ if you could. Right?”   
Voxel growled slightly as Cube laughed at his reaction. He couldn’t speak and it wasn’t some joke! His protests only made the laughter last longer much to his chagrin. There wasn’t much they could do while waiting, so Voxel simply returned to sleep as Cube kept watch for the return of the Sacred Shapes.   
They were taking a while anyway, why would it matter if he took a nap?   
A nap… never...    
Never hurt… an y o n e…

Voxel was floating. He could practically feel the darkness clinging to his body as he remained still in the void he had awoken and found himself in. It was familiar to him. This is where he’d first woken up and fought square… why was he here now?   
He couldn’t move…   
His eye looked around, hoping that something would enter his vision. Something familiar to him.

But the void remained empty. It felt like he’d been there for years before something happened. Or was it minutes…?   
Whatever the case, he was now very much aware that he could move, and he could see people around him. All of them transparent, echoing as they spoke and did regular things.   
But what caught his eye the most…   
They were pink too. Every single one.   
The men, women, children and even a few animals he’d never seen before. Now he thought on it, they seemed to share the same characteristic. Horns of some number and shape. One eye. Just like him. He tried standing in front of them, yelling, hoping they’d see him or give him an answer, but nothing happened. He remained invisible.   
As he stood there, something grabbed his hand. He was falling, backwards, faster and faster.   
White, all around him. He was walking down a hallway. When did he get there? Time passed as he went, eventually he saw a door. His gaze lingered on the golden handle. He couldn’t place his finger on it... but...    
It felt like he had to go in there.   
He touched a hand on the doorknob, and was greeted by a light tingle all up his spine. This felt like the biggest experience of deja vu he’d ever had. A room. A child’s perhaps, given all the toys and other things on the floor. He looked behind him as someone tugged his hand.   
It was like looking in a mirror.   
A younger version of himself stood there, barely any horns growing in, the spikes on his arms nonexistent.   
He made to speak, but he couldn’t. It was like his vocal chords had been taken away as the child version of himself simply stood and stared at the mute with clear confusion. The room began falling apart, cracking and fracturing, chunks of wall and belongings falling into the abyss.   
Voxel tried to scream, the child fell away from his grasping hands, it felt like he was drowning, he couldn’t breathe-   
**_“WAKE UP.”_ **   
  
He jolted awake, blowing air out of his mouth and toppling Cube over. His heart was racing. Voxel shook his head. What had he just…? The strange dream was fading away like smoke. He blinked as he realised that he could feel something walking down his back. He lifted his head up and turned to come face to face with a guilty-looking Cube. His expression went deadpan as they clambered down his front right arm.   
“S-sorry… Square called… th-they’re almost back, a-and you were still sleeping so… I thought I sh-should wake you…” Their fingers played with the inside of their sleeve. “Y-you looked like you were having a b-bad dream too… s-so…”   
Voxel rolled his eyes, nudging them and making a sort of whiny groan. Cube smiled.   
“N-no hard feelings…?”   
The boss grunted and dipped his head before laying it back down on the ground again. He waited a little while longer before hearing the telltale chatter and footsteps of the Shapes. Square rounded the corner of the house, turning around and telling the others to wait.   
“Vox? You done napping?”   
He growled slightly.   
“That’s a yes. Come on, do you want help or not?”   
The boss narrowed his expression at Square and slowly stood up, not wanting to make Cube fall over from a sudden movement. He padded around the side of the house, following Square’s lead.   
As his head swung around the corner, he took some pride seeing Pentagon look something other than stoic. Their shocked face was really entertaining. With a bit of a mischievous look, he yawned widely, showing off a mouth lined with two rows of large and sharp teeth. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw them flinch.   
He felt Square shove his leg, apparently the little display was seen through easily by the Shape. Not like it mattered. The reaction was good enough. Triangle came up closer, and Voxel lowered his head to meet them.   
“Ho-lee shit. You look… Well… you look kicka-”   
“TRI.” Pent glared at them.   
“...kick-butt.”

He rumbled lowly with something that was not quite a growl. He agreed with Triangle, but… didn’t mean he liked it. He actually growled when his least-favourite Legendary Shape came closer to him. Pentagon stopped in their tracks, observing him from afar with Voxel’s watchful eyes (there were four now??) tracking him constantly.   
“...Corruption. Massive amounts.”   
“Tell me something I don’t know.”   
“Square, you know you can feel it as well. There’s more in him than there was at the beginning. It’s not as strong as back when... “ They hesitated. “...When we fought last. But it is still too much to be normal. Did he... touch anything?”   
Voxel let out a sharp bark, clearly offended. He was not about to go through what had happened before all over again just cause he wanted to try purging the Corruption from his system! He never even tried to do anything with the Treeangle once he’d reformed! He wasn’t stupid. Pentagon glared right back at him with no small amount of displeasure at his behaviour.   
“Quiet, can’t you see we’re trying to help-?”   
“P-Pent…” Circle’s hand tugged Pentagon’s sleeve gently. “I-I’m sure he didn’t m-mean it… O-Or know about it.”   
The Shape’s face untensed, and they backed down from the agitated Boss reluctantly. No-one held a grudge like they did. Circle shuffled up, frowning and running a hand along his jaw. Voxel growled, still focused on Pentagon's firm expression and set shoulders. They continued along despite shaking with fear at his aggressive display. The boss seemed to calm down on the outside for the small orange Shape's sake at least. Coming around they could see what Pentagon meant. If they looked hard enough they could almost see the stuff coursing under his skin in a slight shimmer. The idea of it… so much of it, going through one person at once? The idea didn’t bear thinking about. It must have hurt.   


The other Shapes left as Square motioned them over.   
They talked for hours.   
Voxel waited in silence and anticipation.   
Questions raced through his mind at mach speeds, all of them not of the best hope.   
Would it kill him? Would he never turn back? ...Or would he end up like THAT again…?   
He wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to know the answer.   
Cube patted his leg comfortingly. He didn’t say anything, but the action was enough to help soothe the agitated Boss. A low whine made its way to the group and Circle trudged over with a look on their face that sent the Boss’s hopes skydiving down. Garbled noises followed, he tried to ask questions but he couldn’t speak, he hated this, he just wanted-!!   
“V-voxel! P-please, please c-calm down.”   
He whined again at the Shape’s placating attempts, his tail waving around and trying not to hit the house or anyone near him. But he stopped making as much noise.   
Circle fiddled with their hands. They took a deep breath and spoke.   
“W-we… we d-don’t know wh-what to do that w-would work immediately. Th-the Treeangle’s n-not an option. A-and we can’t do anything without it. Th-there’s too m-much Corruption f-for me to handle alone t-too… I-if we knew m-more we could try something else, b-but we don’t know a-as much about the Corruption aside from wh-what it does and what s-stops it!”    
They hunched their shoulders as they waited for the inevitable outburst.   
“W-we don’t know h-how to fix you.”   
Voxel was curling up on himself, getting to his feet and making distressed noises as he shook his head.   
**NO! THEY WERE LYING, THEY HAD TO BE, THIS WASN’T TRUE!!**   
He could dully register the concerned voices all around him. Shaking his head didn’t disrupt them, this had to be a bad dream! A building pressure in his chest was starting to become known to him, and he tried to back away. Every time he tried to dash off, a Shape met him and blocked the way. The ground became muddy and torn under his panicked turning and moving. He wanted to grab his skull to tell them to shut up, shut up-   
**_JUST SHUT UP!!!_ **   
With a bellowing roar that popped the ears of anyone present, a massive blast of white and pink energy erupted from his jaws, the mandibles below splitting to let the range go wide.    
The sudden blast gave him the chance to break for it, sprinting at full speed towards the only place he could think to hide. The Shapes lay on the ground, Triangle having dived for Cube to get them out of the way. The smallest of the group could only stare in shock and hurt as he got further and further away.   
Voxel didn’t dare to look back. He couldn’t stay here. They couldn’t help him, he felt like a freak, his very life felt like it was imploding again. He just wanted to hide.   
The Cave he first found himself sealed inside would do the trick. The thing ran deeper than anyone but him realised.   
He had to.   
He didn’t want to be seen like this anymore.  
  
In the distance behind him, tears dropped onto a blue scarf.  
In the cave in front of him, he let out his frustrations on the rock.   
On the hill above him, something waited for the calm to return.


	3. Abduction.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which things take a turn for the worse.

_ Pink spiked boots paced nervously on the spot, teeth worrying away at a clawed thumb. Out beyond a curtain, light chatter could be heard. Looking out on the crowd he could see Square and the other Shapes at the front, Triangle chatting animatedly to Pentagon, and Circle playing with something in their lap as Square pointed things out and presumably gave them hints. _ __  
_ Voxel grumbled. _ __  
_ Of course. OF course, they were waiting there for him to start rather than join in from the start. He could see Pilot and Captain sitting beside each other, and Cube simply waiting patiently between them. _ __  
_ The lights went dim. He sighed and pinched his arm a bit. _ __  
_ This was all Circle’s idea, so if it went wrong, he could pin it on them. _ __  
_ Not that he would. _ __  
_ But if he ended up trampled beneath some particularly large Shape’s feet, it was an option. _ __  
_ They’d sounded sure of themselves, and well… that was contagious, unfortunately. _ __  
**“A Concert!”** **  
****“What.”** **  
****“W-we could have a concert! S-so the people can see y-you aren’t a threat! It’ll be f-fun!”** __  
_ Judging by the few concerned faces out in the crowd, that wasn’t likely. _ __  
_ A brown Shape at the back with some very animated hair bounced on her seat though, clearly excited- Was that a pair of glasses floating next to her?? Moving on through he could see purple Shapes as well. Someone with a star on their chest staring calmly as they waited. He wasn’t entirely sure but he thought he could see someone else in the back also purple with four arms and their legs up on a chair. Another non-purple shape was rather odd to look at too. A guy that looked like he’d gone through a tumble drier and come out with some of the parts from it as well as being pretty damn fluffy. Kinda looked like Cube. Did he have relatives? Looking around some more he wondered if Square had relatives too, given there was a guy behind the fluffy Cube look alike in a hoodie who was the spitting image of the blue hero. Only shorter. There was some green shape at the front as well that caught his eye, with spheres floating around them. And… Lycanthropy? Why’ had he made this kinda trip? _ __  
_...Was that a guy with a disco ball for a head sitting next to a goddamned satellite headed guy? Oh, that definitely was. _ __  
_ No pressure with a crowd like this  _ **_at all._ ** _  
_ __ At least there were no pink shapes anymore though.

_ As he stepped onto the stage, the lights began to shine and the music began to play. He looked out over the mildly shocked faces that sat before him and popped his headphones on. _ __  
_ As the bass dropped, he could see people with hands in the air, several Flower Shapes much to his surprise. Square and the others got up to the stage, dancing along as well as two Flowers that had helped with the setup. _ __  
_ He relaxed. _ _  
_ __ Smiled a tad.

_ With hands in the air, sometimes on the turntables, sometimes one on his headphones with the other in the air or working the vinyl, he bobbed along to the beat. _

_ The flashing lights illuminated the crowd like fireworks, giving him a clear view of the crowd and their energized dancing. He could see Lycanthropy actually standing on his seat and jumping up and down much to the annoyance of everyone around him. _

_ The concert lasted until extremely late, and he himself had to actually remind himself not to spin his hand to turn the imaginary turntable anymore. _

_ It had been a success, Shapes dancing all night, even on their ways home. _ _  
_ _ Maybe he wasn’t such a monster to them after all. _

 

In the present day... he felt like the biggest monster to all of them.

He had no reason to recall that memory, but he was desperate for something that wasn’t anxiety or despair right now.

The memory only served to make him more wistful and remind him of the little… tantrum that had just occurred.   
He’d reached the cave and the pressure in his chest had not dissipated despite all of his best efforts to remain calm.   
It just kept building and building until he’d had to release it out, his jaws starting to feel the strain already from the blasts. So to keep himself from hurting his jaws he took it out on the many rocks and mushrooms around. The ground was covered in rubble and bioluminescent goop from the flora and around by the time he was done; the boss crouching agitatedly in the middle of the carnage before his legs gave out beneath him.   
He felt exhausted. His eyes felt like shutting right about now. Yeah… Sleep sounded amazing to him…   
Just… sleeping forever…   
**CRACK!**   
His head shot up as he got to his feet suddenly at the noise that had just burst through the cavern and scared him out of his skin. He slowly backed up to hide behind a large rock wall he’d somehow failed to bring down. Thank god he had terrible aim like this.   
White eyes scanned the cave floor and the entrance. He could hear shuffling, faint to anyone but him. He decided to stay put and watch. Who was out there? He’d left no tracks, he was sure of it. Well. None that made sense. If he made a mess then tracking became hard.

It felt like hours had passed as the Boss waited in tense silence for something to happen.   
Every tiny drop of water he heard fall from above made him flinch.   
It took him a while to muster up the courage to move.   
This was ridiculous. Scared of a goddamn animal moving around? He was a powerful Boss that also happened to currently be stronger and bigger than before, not some… fucking mouse!!   
He growled lowly. With claws barely making a sound as he padded ahead, he was near-silent in his approach. His haunches raised as he saw a figure from behind the rocks, covered in some kind of black armour that looked so spiky it could poke your eye out from a mile away. He couldn’t tell what kind of colour Shape they were.   
In a flash, he charged. Giant claws slammed either side of the person, his jaws letting loose a mighty bellow and knocking the mysterious person over. They scrambled back and yelled.   
“NOW!”

As if they’d materialised out of thin air, heavy chains struck forward from the darkness. He screeched, the black metal wrapping around his front legs and yanking all four of them from beneath him. He reared back, trying to dislodge them but was only met with a very bulky armoured figure ramming into his leg and bringing the Boss to his knees. His roar of pain as he landed on a boulder could be heard from miles away. Voxel snarled and thrashed, managing to free one arm from the steel grip and swiping at the nearest figure, pulling away from the hard chain in the process. The wielder fell to the floor, clad in the same armour as the other two. And considering one chain remained, there were four attackers in total.   
The boss lashed about, hearing a body hit the wall and reared again, slamming back down. The first figure cursed, trying to escape.    
Voxel wouldn’t let him.

The Boss’s hand slammed down over him, trapping the figure permanently and refusing to move. They screamed and yelled, predictably.   
“GET HIM OFF OF ME!!! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!”   
The others around him paused and circled. He watched them carefully and slowly picked up the figure. He could take them on with three arms. The chain wielders struck first, weaving in a perfect double in their lithe forms. Any inexperienced fighter would’ve found it dizzying. Voxel was not.

 

The two twins found their chains snatched by the beast as soon as they struck. The Boss threw them upwards and snagged the chains again, tossing them into the wall and into the large figure. With his prior engagements down he looked at his captive with a growl. They stopped wriggling instantly. He smiled as they ducked. Good. They should be afraid-   
“VOXEL!! BEHIND YOU!!”   
Was that Cu-   
Voxel screeched and dropped his prey, another fighter having landed on his back and grabbed onto him. He slammed into walls and rubble, trying to dislodge them. He could hear the shapes yelling, and unfamiliar tones barking orders in his frenzied bucking bronco impression.   
He had to get it off, he had to stop it, had to-

A sharp object jabbed into his thick skin, and the Boss fell. He couldn’t move. He wasn’t aware he was screeching until the ringing in his ears from the fall stopped. He knew this feeling.   
**What had they put in him?!**   
He could hear the Shapes yelling for him, just.   
It was getting a little hard to concentrate over the sound his bones cracking. He screamed so much his voice gave out and became little more than a hoarse croak. This time around it seemed to be progressing faster at least. The figure on his back joined the blurs of colour in front of him, leaving the Boss to thrash and cry out, horns receding into his skull and his entire form shrinking. The bony plates on his stomach slowly smoothed out, and his arms began to look more like the rounded segments they usually were. Voxel tried to drag himself along on his arms alone, reaching for the others even as his legs slowly returned to their normal shape and his spine readjusted itself. His eye was wet with tears. With his jaw still reasserting itself into a non-split fashion, he managed to call out weakly.   
**“C u be…”**

He collapsed, letting the darkness take him.   
So… Tired…

 

“VOXEL!!! VOXEL!!! GET UP!!!” Cube burst past the line, their goggles and mask displaying their shock and fear as Square tried to stop them. There was no stopping the little Shape though. They weren’t fast enough to dodge the whip that suddenly appeared in their vision, however, and they fell back, clutching their arm. Blue blood dripped to the ground. The look on their face became fearful. The figure that had landed on Voxel to begin with slowly strolled into view. The whip (or was it a sword?) pointed at them and they spoke calmly in an even tone.   
“Stay down. You aren’t part of this.”   
They walked on, pulling a blanket from their small backpack and wrapping it around the exposed Voxel.   
“Forget about him. This isn’t where he belongs. Understand?”   
Cube grit their teeth, stifling a scream as they stood up. Their eyes watered and spilt like running taps. It hurt! It hurt so much to stand- But they kept going, hands grasping their injury like a lifeline. As the figures began to run away, the Shapes chased after them. They were just able to keep ahead.   
_ They were going to lose Voxel. _

**_THEY WERE GOING TO LOSE HIM!!_ **   
The largest of the figures looked around to see a claw heading straight for their face, only barely making it out. His helmet couldn’t be accounted for though. The glass visor shattered, and they roared out in pain.   
_ “FUCK!! FUCK, IT GOT ON MY FACE-!”  _ Their voice was a deep baritone, growly and rough.   
_ “Take your helmet off, we have meds back on the craft!!”  _ One of the chain wielders hissed. A female voice. Guessing by the similar body and look to the other, they seemed to be twins.   
The sword-wielder yanked them on, stopping the tank from doing anything. “Move it!!”   
As they continued, another claw struck in front of them, burning a hot pink. The first chain wielder whirled around, flinching.   
The air slowly filled with heavy music, pulsing and crying out. Just one phrase. Three words.   
‘Close To Me’   
Cube screeched, sending buzzsaws at the group, cutting them off. His clothes had changed, but he lacked the Treeangle piece in his chest, simply a pink marking in its place. The leader lashed a whip out again, Cube catching it and yanking it from his grip.   
Square took their momentary shock to press forward. As much as he hated any time this happened to one of his dearest friends…   
It was the best distraction they had. Colours clashed as the two sides met, The largest of the abductors partially blinded and having to punch in a general direction. The curled ram horns of his helmet made for a good battering ram, however. Triangle went flying, and the clone keeping the second twin from whipping at Circle dissipated as the yellow Shape slid down the wall. Circle soon followed suit, a vivid orange welt across their cheek and blood trickling down their nose. Pent’s shield continued to shatter as they resummoned and resummoned it, over and over. Square’s cover was barely enough. And the attacks that Cube was firing were waning, his Close To Me form was running on empty most of the time without a steady supply of Corruption.   
The blue Shape dashed forward, trying to break for Voxel. He was so close-!!   
Cube fell to the cave floor, exhausted. A twin nabbed him with their chain just as they reached ground level. The distraction was enough for Square to not see the smaller body crash into him and the unfortunate Pent, sending all three into a rock. Square got up, limping. Their ankle screamed with pain. It really shouldn’t be at this angle. At least they could walk. With a well-placed shot from his arm cannon, he hit the leader as they walked off. The helmet split open like a nut.   
Pink spiky hair. Two horns either side of his head. A single small one in the centre.   
The corrupted Boss looked back, grimacing with his single eye squinted.   
Square could only stare as he gave in to his agonised ankle. He hit the floor hard, and blackness swarmed his vision.   
But not before he saw Voxel reach out one final time.   
**“He lp… m e...”**

Square let unconsciousness swarm him before he could speak another word.


	4. Puzzle pieces.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Voxel is told some more things, and Pentagon learns something as well.

There was only one thing worse than losing someone.  
The aftermath as people recovered and tried to forget how they’d lost them in the first place.

Square, Circle and Triangle were bedridden, Pent and Cube were roughed up pretty badly and Pilot had to call in Captain so the two shapes able to stand weren’t making themselves worse looking after the other three. Pent most of all, ever trying to do the best he could do and beyond, ever trying to be a better leader. The green Shape currently was sat on the stairs, arms around their legs. They could only do so much before their injuries began to hurt, and then they’d be set upon by anyone who saw them working. Inside the Legendary Shape’s mind, things were whirling like demented and out-of-place gears.  
How had they lost so BADLY?? They were ready for a fight. They knew the risks of tackling pink attacks, and how best to deal with them. But… Something about the way the other Shapes were attacking felt off. Really off. And it was bugging Pent to no end.  
They knew they might encounter resistance, otherwise, why would they bring talented fighters? And it was a balanced team too. Long range fighters, close quarters and a heavyweight. It couldn’t be a coincidence they were so well coordinated, especially dealing with something that no Shape had seen before. This just didn’t sit right with them let alone the fact they could very well all be corrupted. The green shape stood up, leaning on the wall and walked to the kitchen, where Pilot was busy doing their thing. Whatever that happened to be right now. They tended to never speak much during stressed times but… Pent kind of knew they could read someone like a book. It was almost unnerving when they managed to get them to calm down before they even realised they were mad.

“You’re worried.”  
“No- No, I’m not-” They stuttered, before running a hand through their dishevelled green hair. “Okay, yes, I’m worried. That group was ready to deal with a big threat and a Corrupt one at that. They had to all be Corrupt too.”  
“How so?” Pilot took a seat at the table, Pent facing them.  
“During… During the fight, Square shot the leader in the head. They came out fine, but… They looked just like Voxel. One eye, pink markings, horns, pink hair too, it was like he had a twin! The others were the same, I’m sure of it.” He groaned. “Voxel’s never- he’s always been corrupted, and if they were the same then… this is a whole colony or something of Corrupted Shapes we could be dealing with.”  
“Are they?” Pilot sighed and ran a hand over their head.. “Right… well… did you try to find Barracuda?”  
Pent frowned. “What do you mean?”  
“They’ve always been pink, long as I can remember. Never turned back even after the land got purified. I mean Lyca’s pink only occasionally, same as Cube, but Barracuda isn’t like them. I don’t even know if they are the same as us. If there’s any chance of you getting some kind of help for Vox… it’s them you need to go to.”  
Pent paused, drumming fingers on the table. This plan was crazy. Even if they did talk, what guarantee would there be for them to not attack them? They were injured as is. But… this was their best shot. Pent looked back at Pilot with resolved determination in their eyes.  
“...Still got the hoverpacks?”

* * *

WATCH IT! That HURTS believe it or not!!”  
“Oh shut it. You want these shards stuck in your head forever?”  
“Here, let me take Darik. You look after Mr.Popularity.”  
“No. I got this. Keep eyes on the guy, and I’ll get him fixed up. Ria has the wheel.”  
“Oh yeah, no fear there then. The same girl who blew up that building one time cause she was bored, seriously Sye?”  
“IT WAS COMING DOWN ANYWAYS SENRICK!!”  
“Yeaaah suuuure. Fine, I’ll look after- Oh shit, he’s waking up...”  
Voxel groaned, curling up and putting a hand on his head. Treeangle be damned, had he taken a freight train to the body? Oh, wait. That whole monster thing. Yeah, that sucked… Okay, it sucked a LOT. Why did he have to have all the weird shit-

“Hey. You okay?”  
He opened his eye blearily, squinting at the bright lights. “Th- th’fuck…”  
“That’s a no. You took had a bit of a rough go there with that stunt you pulled back there Kuas.”  
He couldn’t see any blue… What was going on…? The attackers. The Shapes. Cube. Oh shit, shit-!! He bolted upright despite his clear agony in the movement, joints protesting as they moved and shifted him upright. His vision cleared with a few blinks, and he noticed the other person in the unfamiliar room with him immediately. Pink. They were pink. They looked really close to him, two straight horns with a smaller one in between them and pink markings to boot. He pulled away, noting the blanket and embarrassing lack of clothes. A monster form does not support clothes built for a Boss. Noted.  
“Hey, hey, easy, it’s me!” The other Corrupted Shape tried to soothe. “It’s me. Senrick. Calm down. You’re safe, it’s not long till we reach home.”  
He tried to touch Voxel’s shoulder, but the Boss shifted away sharply.  
“GET OFFA ME YA DICK! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?! THE FUCK’D YOU DO TO THE SHAPES?! WHERE THE HELL IS CUBE?!”

Senrick looked blankly at Voxel, and then to the side as if to ask for some kind of answer to appear. Voxel followed his gaze and noted the several other Corrupts in the- oh god this was a fucking PLANE. One had shards of glass all over his face, ram horns scuffed and chipped. His beard was reminiscent of a Viking and suited the heavily built body well. Then there were the two twins. Both girls, both lacking the segmented arms that the others had. One had long hair in a ponytail, the other with a half-shaved style. They wore the same clothes, minus prosthetic feet on the one with ponytail, and arms up to the elbow on the half-shaved one. The latter twin held the controls, eyes on the sky. He recognised none of them. But it was easy to tell they were at least mildly shocked by his aggressive reaction.  
Viking guy shifted about a bit, grunting. “This isn’t the time to be jokin’ around kid. We rescued your ass.”  
“Rescued?? RESCUED?!” Voxel was exhausted, but he could feel the music rising in him. IT was faint, barely perceptible. He was weak, but he’d fight with all he had. He had to get home. “YOU HURT CUBE AND THE OTHERS, ASSHOLES!! I DUNNO WHO THE FUCK YOU ARE, BUT I’LL RIP YOUR GODDAMN SPINE OUT AND SHOW YOU WHY YOU DON’T MESS-”  
Voxel was met with a slap to the face from the twin that had been looking after Viking guy. He cursed as blood dripped from his mouth. He’d bitten his cheek. Ponytail looked pissed.  
“WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM KUAS?! We looked for fucking YEARS, we finally find you, return you to normal, meet you again, and THIS is how you fucking thank us?!”  
He grimaced, finding the strength to punch forwards. “The NAME. IS. VOXEL!!”  
The music soared high enough to be heard, his arm firing off and hitting the wall. Senrick dived for ponytail, and Viking guy covered his face.  
“What the hell-?! SHIT!! RIA-!!”  
“I’m on it Sen, don’t shit your pants just yet!” The twin at the wheel yelled back as the other three restrained Voxel’s thrashing to get free, the blanket thankfully staying on.  
The aircraft shuddered, bumped and made a lot of error noises as it began to crash downwards into the land below, Ria clearly having trouble with the controls.  
“I see the Strip!! HOLD YOUR ASSES, IT’S GONNA BE ROUGH!!”  
Voxel suddenly found himself tackled as the aircraft screeched and shook wildly. He noted with satisfaction that the Viking guy had crashed into a wall and was now cursing like a sailor. They screeched to a halt, bodies and items flying everywhere. Before he could recover, the Boss found an inhibitor collar on his neck again. He only had a second to wonder how they had that tech in particular before Senrick grabbed his arms and held him down. He grabbed a coat that had fallen from a crate in the crash and shoved it over Voxel to cover him, then placed restraints on his hands. He stood Voxel up as the doors opened and Ponytail shoved him forward. Senrick grimaced angrily and spat out a single sentence.  
“Welcome home Kuas.”

* * *

Pent was fairly certain that he did not like this kind of height. Specifically, the one where there were high winds and nothing below his feet. Oh, and also snakes snapping at him.  
“WHY DID I THINK THIS WOULD WORK?! THIS IS A BAD PLAN!!”  
“Calm down. We’re above the jump height. I’ve been here before to pick up Lyca remember?”  
“TELL THAT TO THE SNAKES.”  
Pent kicked a particular serpent in the head that was persistently going for his right foot. It hissed and dropped back into the water, only to continue its pursuit with the rest of its brethren. Greatly to Pent’s dismay of course. He tried his best to stay level with Pilot from there on, rather than sink at the idea of the hungry reptiles below.  
By the time they reached the cave, Pent was wet, tired, and SICK OF SNAKES.  
Pilot’s built-in hoverpack folded neatly away into her back, while Pent’s returned to a backpack mode. He knelt on the floor, picking up a brightly glowing mushroom to inspect it. He showed it’s spiked exterior off to Pilot. They crouched beside him curiously.  
“What is it-? Oh.”  
“Corruption. They’re near.”  
“Well, obviousssly you dull pentagonal imbecile. I live here.”  
Pent whirled around, shield up in time to deflect the snake that had struck at the two Shapes. Barracuda strode into view, clapping slowly.  
“Ssseemsss you can be competent after all Ssshape. Why are you here?? I ssshould kill you on the spot for what you did to me and my… compatriotsss.” A snake coiled around their arm, jaws wide and hissing at the intruders.  
“...We need your help.“  
“Wrong.”  
Pent glared at the snakelike Boss as Pilot attempted to soothe them with a hand on the shoulder. “Pent… Please don’t get mad...”  
It didn’t work, the Shape stepping forward with a stormy expression.

“Excuse me?? What do you mean ‘Wrong’??”  
“Isss that really what you want?” The Boss strode forward with boots clicking on the smooth rock floor. “You sssay you want help, to help sssomeone out with sssomething or to fix an isssue. But isss that your true thoughtsss? Are you sssure you don’t jussst… misss being in charge again?”  
Pent froze. “I- That- That’s nothing like what I want!!”  
Barracuda grinned under the mask evidently, eyes crinkling up with a wicked gleam. “Oh… I’m sssure it isss.”  
Pilot suddenly stood between the two, arms out as if to block the words coming out. “STOP!! Voxel got kidnapped and he turned into a weird dragon-bug thing, and by Shapes that were fully and irreversibly Corrupt as far as we know, and you’re our best bet because you never Uncorrupted, not even once!”  
The Boss shut up. Even the hissing snakes had ceased to spit and rattle. “...what?”  
“He was taken away by Corrupted.”  
“Tha- That’sss not-! Imposssible…” They looked back to the two intruders. “I’ll help you. But word of thisss never leaves passst your earsss. Or the other Ssshapesss.”  
“Go ahead. I’m waiting.” Pent folded their arms. Barracuda sighed, looking remarkably scared for how they usually appeared. It was a foreign expression to be worn by the snakelike Boss.

“The Corrupted are not from here. Neither am I. They hail from an Island farther from here than any of usss have travelled. They do not utilissse technology sssparingly, and are constantly preparing for the worssst. Voxel isss from that land. Ssso am I. I myssself was kicked out for sssome… dissstasssteful experimentsss.” They looked at their hands, pulling off a glove slightly to reveal scales climbing up their arm. Pent grimaced. They did THAT?? Barracuda seemed nonplussed. “They sssimply did not sssee evolution asss I did. Voxel, however? He disssappeared from their radar and presumably ran away. I cannot fathom why. But I can tell you that whoever tried to get him back… they are not to be messsed with. The Retrievers are an elite group sssent in for covert misssions. Voxel wasss one of them ssso they presssumably tracked him down to regain a lossst member. Assside from this, I know little of the sssituation. If you want anssswersss... ”  
Barracuda lowered their head gravely.  
“You’ll have to make your way to that land yourssselvesss.”  
Pent turned to Pilot, then back to Barracuda with steely resolve. “Where do we go?”  
They hissed one last time as they passed them and headed deeper into the caves, bright pink coat and snakes soon swallowed by the hungry shadows.  
“Follow the sssunssset.”  
With that, the Boss was gone, and the two heroes were left with more questions than answers.


	5. Is this really home?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Voxel finds himself in hostile territory. Possibly.

Voxel’s eye blinked at the change in lighting. It was the daytime, meaning if he’d been on that plane since he left… Treeangle be damned, he was really fucking far from home. As far as he could see, the land was Corrupt as well. Just like when he’d had his own little temper tantrum. The dark and pink-tinged earth sent wasn’t what sent shivers through him though. There was barely any music. It sounded so… barren. The only things he could hear were voices in the distance and the hum and clank of operating machines. It was then he noted the several other figures working to fix the crashed plane. They all kept staring at him, he knew they were. He’d grown used to the feeling of eyes on his back. Senrick pushed him down the ramp, the Boss growling slightly in annoyance. The other Shapes working on what they were doing seemed similar to the others most times. Segmented arms, one eye, horns, pink. Other times they’d have several eyes or more of a fleshy skin tone. Sometimes they’d just have markings instead of actual segments. It was really starting to freak him out. How long had he been thinking he was the only Pink Shape around?   
  
As he was ushered off the airstrip, he saw they were heading into a building directly next to it. He wondered if it was possible to have deja vu and feel completely lost in an alien environment at once. Because if so, that’s what he felt. The sturdily built Corrupt split off, following the one with the ponytail. Senrick called after them.   
“Sye! Don’t take too long with Darik, okay? Just get him basic medical and get back to the-”   
“The science wing, yeah yeah. Don’t let Prias bite your head off.”   
“Don’t let Matei take off Darik’s.”   
The big guy, presumably Darik, chuckled. “Oh go off it Senrick. He hates you more’n me.”   
Senrick laughed and exchanged a brief wave as they went through a pair of double doors, leading into a white hall. It looked sterile and busy. Several Corrupts were walking along, chatting, sometimes holding something, sometimes not. The Boss felt mildly light-headed, though he had to attribute that to the collar. He forgot how bad it felt. They passed through the corridor, garnering plenty of stares from the various pink Shapes around. Voxel shrunk down into the coat he’d been given.   
_ “Is that...?” _ __  
_ “Oh my god.” _ __  
_ “Hey, didn’t he die back-” _ _  
_ __ “No, I heard he was captured-”

_ “Why is he shackled?” _

The Boss resolved to reassert his death stare as soon as he stopped feeling like shit. Maybe then he’d stop feeling like something in a zoo.

Senrick turned him around a corner, through a courtyard and up a glass elevator. As they ascended, Voxel started in surprise as he paid more attention to his surroundings. Plants grew abundantly, looking healthy in pink rather than sickly like the ones he’d seen before. Some kind of bird-like animal rested in a big tree in the centre, glowing slightly like the ones in the Treeangle’s branches. This tree wasn’t like that though, just an ordinary admittedly Corrupted oak. Behind him, he heard Senrick speak up.   
“If this is a game, I’m not finding it funny. What’s going on Kuas?”   
“I told ya, the name is Voxel, so quit it with the damn ‘Kuas’ shit!” He spat. “Who the hell are you?? I’ve been turned into some fuckin’ monster, turned back, kidnapped, and now I got an inhibitor round my neck, so I REALLY don’t want bullshit right now!!”

The elevator dinged, and Senrick pulled him out into another corridor without speaking a word. “Gee, thanks. Your silence speaks volumes…”   
The windows along the right-hand side showed what looked like a town, and a busy street behind the fortified wall barring it. He forgot to look where he was going and bumped into someone, cursing. A Shape with segmented arms and a fanged bandanna glared back down at him.   
“Watch where you’re going.”   
Somehow Voxel thought he’d dodged a bullet by avoiding speaking up to that guy. The way Senrick sighed slightly seemed to support that fact. As he continued ahead, he could see plenty more interesting-looking Shapes wandering around outside. Someone in a giant hoodie, a girl with a neon pink ponytail who appeared to be telling someone off and someone who was… well. He looked like a walking fur coat to the Boss. He only got brief glances as he continued along though. Still getting stares every step of the way. Still aching in places he never knew could hurt so badly. Not all physical though.

He was almost glad to suddenly be shoved through a door and into a lab room. Senrick pushed him into a chair, and stood next to him, saluting to the only other figure in the room, clad in a white lab coat. Magenta hair flowed down to her waist as she stood over a bench, tapping on a laptop. As she moved away, Voxel flinched. Next to the laptop, in a clear tray was some poor creature that had once been alive, now nothing more than some dissected viscera. White gloves were removed as the lady turned to face the two.   
“Senrick. I see you were successful?”   
“Y-yes ma’am.” He jolted slightly, lowering his gesture. “We found him in a cave on the Islands overseas. He’s refusing to co-operate though, he-”

“Shh.”   
The woman slowly came over as Senrick stood quietly, leaving the pink-stained gloves in a sink as she approached. Voxel glared at her as she crouched down to his current eye-level. Her face just had the sort of look that made him want to punch her. Not that he had any idea why. She moved one hand under his chin, tilting his face around. Voxel tried to jerk his head but was met each time with a surprisingly strong grip.   
“Hm… I see… Senrick, would you be so kind as to get him some decent clothes from his old room?”   
“But… but ma’am, he’s still a threat, and it’s my job to-”   
“I’m perfectly aware of what your job is, Retriever.” Her tone was suddenly icy, and she glared before returning to her calm voice once more. “Go on. I can handle him.”   
Senrick paused, nodding and leaving the room with hands behind his back.

The moment he left, the other Corrupt slapped Voxel across the face, hard. He cursed as he began trying to stand up and retaliate just to be forced to sit again.  
“Sit down. You have a lot of nerve showing up again Kuas. Especially after doing what you did.” Her eye narrowed and the hand keeping him down swiped his face. Three neat pink lines followed across his cheek. Her claws were NOT dulled like everyone he’d seen so far. In fact, they’d been sharpened.   
“GAH!! THE FUCK’S YOUR-”  
“QUIET. I did not give you permission to speak. Your little… stunt cost me my research. My reputation. And the future of our people to boot whether you agree with it or not.” She pulled him forwards. “What did you do to it??”

He grimaced and spat. _ “I don’t fuckin’ know!! And if I did I guess I had a pretty good  fuckin’ reason for it considering the only interaction I’ve got with you is you throwing a bitch fit!!” _   
Voxel’s head snapped to the side again, two more scratches joining the first three. The accidental bite in his cheek from earlier reopened as he spat the blood out. He coughed, a defiant glare in his eye as he snarled at her with gritted teeth.   
“Who the fuck are you?? I’d like to know who I’m gonna kick up the ass when I get outta these cuffs!”   
The other Corrupt’s sudden tightening of her grip caused him to hiss, but he refused to cry out. He wouldn’t give her the satisfaction. She wouldn’t hear one more yell out of him. The woman stood with a snarl on her face and strode away, grabbing an empty syringe from a nearby tray.   
“Fine then. If you won’t talk. I’ll simply use you as a test subject. As far as anyone knows, you’re simply a Retriever who was tortured so badly he lost his memories. So badly he was brainwashed into siding with the unknown enemies overseas.” Voxel struggled, but she was very good at holding him still so far. He felt the needle go in and out quickly, and she pulled back before capping the small metal instrument. “And who would believe that I attacked you unless it was in self-defence?”   
Voxel watched as she messed up her hair and scattered objects about before she kicked a chair leg so hard it snapped. Finding himself sideways on the floor, he saw stars as horned head met hard tiles. “No one would.”   
She held her hands behind her back, only for her to suddenly start breathing heavily, slumped over as if she’d been hit a few times as the door opened. She acted so well she almost convinced Voxel that she’d been fighting him off.

The door opened, and Senrick rushed into the aid of the other Corrupt instantly, noting the chaotic way the room had been rearranged and dropping a bundle that he’d been carrying.   
“Ma’am, what-!?”   
“He’s insane, this.. fool, tried to kill me!! Lock him in his room. I-I’ll deal with him later.”   
Voxel bristled at this, yelling. “I’M INSANE?! YOU’RE THE ONE WHO’S CRAZY LADY!!”   
Senrick looked between the two as he ushered the woman to a chair before he stomped over and hauled the Boss to his feet.   
“Get here-!!”   
“LET… GO!!” Voxel yelled, yanking hard. He only received a weapon held to his throat for the effort.   
Senrick started to drag him kicking and screaming to the door although there was much more of the former than the latter. His gaze remained locked on the woman as she watched him go, keeping up the act all the time. Senrick paused before he left, picking up the bundle with one arm after sheathing the sword back at his side.   
“Get yourself to medical Prias. Alright? I know it’s not my place, but-”   
“I will be fine. Do your job.”   
“I- Yes ma’am.”   
Prias huh? Well… he knew who to go for if he ever turned into that thing again. For now, he remained struggling and being dragged along by Senrick. The environment passed by like a blur, and he soon found himself tossed into a room with the bundle haphazardly. He tried to get to his feet in time to exit the room but the door slammed before he could even get on one knee. His head met the cold metal with a yell of anger.   
“LEMME OUT OF HERE!! YOU, YOU FUCKER, I’LL GET YOU-”   
Footsteps lead away from the door and left Voxel alone in the room. He couldn’t see anything through the clouded window. Let alone under the door. As far as he could see, the room was barren of any outside influence. He groaned and sat with his head in his hands. Fuck. FUCK! He was so alone, and he was gonna be stuck here forever. He didn’t know if Cube, Square, Tri or any of the others were okay. He was on his own. He yelled his frustrations for a good hour, his throat raw by the end of it all.

His mind was a maelstrom of anger and questions. God he just- That Prias BITCH!! He looked at the bundle. He could be angry later. Right now he wanted to get something other than the coat on. With the item no longer needed he tossed it to the side. At least he had something that fit him and wasn’t in cuffs anymore, right? As he stood there, his eyes passed over someone on a bed he’d failed to see before. He walked over cautiously, tapping with a finger and jumping back. Nothing. Gently, he peeled back the covers to reveal… Pillows. He let out an annoyed groan. Of course. This place was messing with him. Still, he wouldn’t get any further answers or a way to escape just sitting there and yelling. The Boss wandered about, opening drawers on a dresser and rifling through files on a small desk. Eventually, he had a small collection of items on the floor. Sheaves of paper and photos. Some odd objects. A mini lockbox. He went for the papers first. A tiny book, written in messy handwriting. He huffed a small laugh. Whatever he’d been doing here, at least he still had his handwriting the same. He flipped through quickly. Birthdays for people he didn’t know. Names he’d learned. But nothing on why he’d been gone. He almost threw the book aside in frustration to go for the next, had he not seen the last page. Writing careened off the lines, written in a hurry, in what looked like fear. He scanned the words.

_ Not sure how long I have before this thing works and I end up either a freak or dead. Either way, shit’s going down. Whoever reads this, do not trust Prias. She’s crazy, she collected a bunch of Shapes down on their luck and turned them into these… -hi--s _ _  
_ _ Point is, they’re not normal. Never will be. Far as I know she doesn’t have the data any--re, I destroyed th-t --ip a long time ago. Dest---ed the sa----s and ser--s -nd t--- t-e  -o---ng --e. _

(Voxel frowned at the pink stains that covered parts of the page. Ouch.)

_ I can’t let her get them. Besides, I gotta defend myself somehow. I don’t got much time so… _ __  
_ If you’re reading this? _ _  
_ **_Don’t trust her._ **


	6. The plan.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Prias reflects, the Shapes discuss, and a plan is begun.

Prias looked like the image of calm and tranquillity as she worked on her chemicals, bent half over the table and peering through a microscope. On the inside… Hell hath no fury. Her mind was a whirlwhind as it sped through equations and plans, attack plots and counterattacks, sorting through everything that could go wrong with her ideas. She could never stop planning for one second, could she? Kuas remembered nothing clearly. Senrick used his sedative way too quickly and deprived her of more data on how he fought. And now she had a Shape that could remember what happened at any given time and turn the wires she pulled on to shreds with a few well-placed words. And if he had it, the data she needed. It was ironic that her greatest enemy at this time was one of her greatest creations all at once.  
  
She barely batted an eye as a shrieking wail echoed from behind her and the dull thud of reinforced glass several inches thick being slammed into and slightly chipped was clear. Pulling the few clumps of hair that had fallen over her shoulder backwards, she spun on her chair to face the monster in the chamber. Another failure by her standards. Clearly not fully tuned to perfection. A halfway-bestial Shape with no sense of friend or foe. She found herself purchasing a lot of life-support technology from her sources these days to keep her ‘experiments’ alive.  
She sighed and gently rose, strolling to the container’s seethrough barrier and crouching to look the burly figure in the eyes. She smiled as it scrambled away, growling and hissing. It knew that it was about to get punished for its little attempt at escape.  
The screams were music to her ears. An assurance that she was in control here. The lab lit up in sparks as its collar shocked it, and she stepped away. The other experiments were crying out now, the one punishment had stirred them. She ignored the distorted noises and sat back down to look at the cells in the microscope’s vision.  
Science did not wait for accomplishments to happen on their own.  
_A great mind had to set things in motion first._

“I say we gather as many Shapes that want to fight as possible and take down the threat before they can get close.”   
“No, that’s an awful idea. Most of the Island’s residents are pacifistic, and those that aren’t don’t exactly fit the bill of being strong most of the time! They aren’t all Bosses!”   
“Square’s right Tri… I-I don’t know many…”  
Hands ran through yellow hair as headphones sat around their neck. Triangle groaned.   
“Fuck me… What do we do then? What can we, a group of four do against an unknown enemy?? WE DON’T EVEN KNOW HOW MANY THERE ARE!!”   
Blue eyes gazed sightlessly at the table, exhausted. “I… I don’t know.”   
Circle sat on a chair, legs pulled up to their chest and the hood inside their coat pulled over their head. Cube and Captain stood side by side opposite them. The smaller shape looked so afraid. And the sailor was ready to rip a new hole in the next attackers. If any more came. The Shapes had enough time to recuperate by now, and tensions were running high. Most were still aching even though their injuries were completely healed. There was only so much the small Shards could help with per person. They weren’t the actual pieces of the Treeangle itself. Cube heard a knock on the door, and opened it to see-

“Move Cube!” Pentagon shoved through the door, causing the small shape to stumble back. Pilot followed suit, clearly as urgent as Pentagon. Cube got themselves on Pilot’s shoulders as soon as they came through the door. They hugged the frequent flyers head as soon as they were able to. They were their favourite Non Legendary Shape even despite the fact that they were rather damp right now. A soggy hug was better than no hug.  
“Hey, watch out-” Triangle glanced up and down Pent’s soggy form and raised an eyebrow. “Uhhh… do I wanna know?”   
“No. Not important. We talked to Barracuda.”   
Square was on their feet in a second with their hands on Pentagon’s arms. “WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?? Why didn’t you say anything, you could’ve-”   
“I DON’T CARE RIGHT NOW!” A yell erupted, and the green Shape slumped into a chair. “We- We talked to them and they know where Voxel is.”

The room was silent and Pentagon took this as an incentive to continue.   
“We thought since they were one of the shapes that didn’t uncorrupt after the fight and the treeangle’s purification that… that they might be from where those other Corrupt and presumably Voxel came from. And turns out we guessed right.” Pent pulled a map from their pocket, sealed in a plastic bag to be safe. They pointed to a blank region on the west of the map and tapped there. “Here. It’s the only place unmarked. It’s close to another landmass the other side of it and as far as I know, it’s in a really good area for weather.”   
“Ye, but yer missin’ a bit of information lad.” Captain tapped the same spot, conversing in their light accent. “That be a rough patch. I tried in me past to make it through there, but I never got one meter in before seein’ sharp rocks and rough waves.”   
“Did you ever get past there though? For all you know we could be missing a whole civilisation!”  
“And how’d they get there?? We don’t even know if yer informant be tellin’ the truth!”

“STOP IT!!”  
Faces turned towards the door as Cube stood there. They hopped off Pilot’s shoulders and landed on the floor with a thud. Pink tinged at their hair and clothes ever so slightly.  
“I don’t care if I need to go across the whole world to get him back! He’s my friend!! He’s yours too, like it or not!! I’d do anything for him, and all of you too so why won’t you do the same for him!?” With that, they slammed the door open and ran off, slamming it behind them.  
Cube didn’t pay attention to where they were headed. All they concentrated on was the anger and sadness they felt as their feet pounded the ground in their emotion-filled run. No one was going to help Voxel. They were all just so… AGH! Why couldn’t they just stop fighting and work out a plan?! A few Flowers scattered as the Shape ran straight through the little group and onwards. Blue and pink swirled on their visor as they went, until-  
**BANG!**

They fell backwards with a whimper as they clutched their stinging nose. The Treeangle glowed brightly after being run into at top speed by a small Shape. A few birds scattered from their perch around its sides at the disturbance. The pink drained away as they remained in its gentle white light and stared up into its white branches. Cube shuffled around so their back leant against its smooth trunk. They leant back and looked into the sky as they felt their heart rate slow down. They usually spoke to it on a day where they had nothing to do. So… why not now? Besides… any help was good right now.   
  
“Hi there Tree… It’s… It’s me. Cube? I still don’t know if you can even understand or hear me… Square seems to think you do. So… I’m here to talk again.”   
Their head rested on the trunk, slightly frizzing from the ambient energy around.   
“...You remember Voxel? I mean… of course, you do. I-If you’re even sentient. But… He got kidnapped recently. A-and turned into a sort o-of mini-Annihilate form. And turned b-back. But… We don’t know how to get to where he is.” A pause.   
”The sea’s rough, a-and the air currents that far out might ruin any small flying gear l-like Pilot’s. A-and no one’s agreeing o-on what to do and Voxel could be-!!”   
They let out a shaky sigh and rubbed their eyes under the visor. No crying. No crying.   
“L-look… I know y-you don’t like him. You rejected his t-touch e-every time after the incident. And I c-can’t imagine what it would feel like to be so… Corrupted. I-I only got a fraction, a-and… Look… I know you hate him. You have every right to. But… I can’t help but hope that if you really can hear me… That you’ll help somehow. He’s nothing like what he was. A-and he’s… he’s a friend. I just… I don’t want him to… to not come home…”   
They pulled their knees up to their chest and mumbled.   
“I can’t just leave him... “

A gentle chime broke the silence. Cube looked (or tried to look) at the small Shards atop their head. They were glowing. Hands reached for the little triangles that rested there and came back empty. The two Shards floated higher and returned to the tree, only for the uppermost part of it to split off and be replaced by a fainter glowing replica. Cube wasn’t aware of when they stood up. But as the large piece shrunk to a manageable size and hovered between the Shape’s hands they couldn’t help but stumble a bit. They looked to the Treeangle and smiled, eyes happy and smile wide. It was on their side.   
“Thank you…”

The house had fallen quiet after Cube had blasted out the door and yelled at them, borderline Ctm. Square was the first to open their mouth again out of the entire company present.   
“Captain…” They looked upwards for a second. The ultimately decided that the old coffee stain on the table was a lot more interesting to them than looking at the eyes now focusing on theirs. “How far did you make it on your Waterboard? To the stormy area, I mean.”   
The seasoned sailor paused and stared at them before answering in a tired tone.   
“Pretty close. I weren’t the best at piloting one ‘o them in bad weather in all honesty...”   
Square glanced back up to the Shape from his now-broken concentration on the stained wood table. “Did you ever use a bigger boat?”   
A strange look came over Captain’s face. And then… he smiled.   
“She’s not one that I’ve been able ta take out on the water. An’ I still have her.”

“How much farther??” Triangle whined for the 5th time that day.   
“WE ARE NOT THAT LONG FROM IT FER THE LAST TIME!”  
The coastal path was filled with the dim roar of the waves crashing out over the shore, nearly drowning out the music above. The small band of Shapes had been gone for about an hour on the lead of wherever Captain had hidden their craft. It was getting tiring for some, but the sailor seemed to still be in enough energy to power through. Pilot was alternating between flying and walking, to save their feet and robotic parts the strain. Eventually, they stopped. A seaside cave, the tides wearing away despite the resilience of the rock. They walked inside, and Captain reached to the wall. Small floodlights splashed out the area in white light and revealed...    
“Holy shit…”

A blue Brigantine ship floated in a natural pool of water formed by the ebb and flow of the waters around the cave. A blue decal rested on the ship’s prow. Three triangles, and a square.   
Square smiled on seeing it. “Good luck charm I’m guessing?”   
Circle and Triangle were instantly on the boat with a single dash, jumping about and exploring the inside of it. Pentagon shortly followed, albeit a lot more reserved and inspecting. Captain shrugged as the two walked up the plank to follow the others.   
“Ye can’t be too careful. ‘Sides, still can’t take her out.”   
“Why bring us then?”   
“She’s good on a windy day, but the way out there tends to be rough, even a ways from the disaster area. It can be hard to get her in control, so she’s a powered vessel. Only issue bein…”   
Square nodded in understanding. “Right. How’s it powered?”   
“Shards usually. Only… we don’t really got a lot on hand, and it takes a lot to get her that far.”   
Square ran their hand over the wooden railings on the ship, admiring the carvings on the outside.   
“We can try to get that many… but I don’t know if the Treeangle will like that much. We probably might be able to get half of what we need… maybe a little more. But no promises.”   


“That’s not a problem.”   
Square, Pentagon and Captain turned to see a startling sight. Cube, holding…   
“The Treeangle decided to help. I… I’m a good negotiator. I think.”   
Captain chuckled. Sniggered. Until his quiet chortling turned to full-blown laughter that echoed around the cavern and scared a few birds that were roosting in the roof away.   
“Well then! What the hell are we waitin’ for?? Get your provisions Shapes, and we’ll be off asap! Let’s go save that friend ‘o ours!”


	7. Releasing the beast.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Prias decides to see just what Voxel's made of. And Voxel does not like the results.

Three hundred and twenty-seven.   
_ Badump. _   
Three hundred and twenty-eight.  
_ Badump. _   
Three hundred and twenty-nine.   
__ Badump.  
Three hundred and thirty-   
“Kuas, I’m here to collect you for Doctor Prias. Please step away from the door and lie on the floor with your hands behind your head.”   
__ Badump-bump-bump.  
  
Voxel scowled at the door and the ball that had rolled out of the path it had been repeating for the last hour. Day? He’d lost track of time here. And whoever decided to knock on the door had just broken his high score of three hundred and forty bounces caught. He banged on the metal with one fist annoyedly and growled, daring them to come and get him.   
“Hey asshole, if you want me on the floor, you’re not gonna get me to do it willingly. You want me down yer gonna have to fight.”   
He stood in the middle of the room, arms hanging loosely at his sides. He might not have his abilities, but he could still break stone with his fists if he really tried. Maybe. Whatever the case, he’d not take it lying down. The Corrupt was ready.   
A metallic clunk was heard, and a slot at the bottom of the door slid open. A small cylinder was tossed in and exploded with a blinding flash, causing Voxel to fall back clutching his eye. Okay... maybe not ready for that. He struggled as strong arms put him in the restraints from yesterday and forced him to his feet before putting a blind over his still spotty vision.  
As he was forced to walk, the Corrupt tried to memorise the steps. If he wanted out, he needed to know which way was which. Rights and lefts burned themselves into his memory. Then, after a moment, there was a beep. Restricted passage or something. He’d need a key or code to get through there then. That complicated things. A few more turns, a bunch of stairs down and they stopped at another restricted door. It opened and he found the blindfold off immediately. He blinked until the pink blurs came into focus. And immediately scowled at seeing his least favourite Shape in the world with hands behind her back. The Shape holding him (not Senrick, he noticed, but some other Shape) handed Prias a remote and left. He glared at her as she circled him, like a shark circling their prey, or a wolf circling a wounded animal. She opened a door to a chamber, a desk in front of a two-way mirror filled with scientific equipment and a microphone attached to a small control panel sitting outside.   
  
“Hello again Kuas. I do hope you slept well. We’ll be doing lots of work today and… well. I can’t have a tired guinea pig. Might get some bad results.”   
“Gee, I really would hate that. Don’t think you’ll be impressed much. I don’t really do well in school tests.” He spat back, voice dripping with sarcasm.   
“Oh don’t worry. You’ll do perfectly well from what I saw from the Retriever’s headcams. You appear to be quite the brawler.”   
“Well, in that case, I might as well test you, cause then you’ll see just how much of a brawler I am!”   
“I’m sure you will.” Prias gestured to the chamber with a jerk of her head. “Inside. Now.”   
Kuas would have spat in her face, but with the way she rested her thumb over a yellow button on the remote… He didn’t fancy risking it. He knew a collar remote when he saw one.   
The Corrupt slowly stepped inside, eye narrowed against the brighter light inside until he could get used to it. The intercom buzzed, and Prias’ voice came through loud and clear.   
“Now then. That collar of yours is coming off now. And those cuffs. But don’t try anything. This is built to hold much worse than you can ever be.”   
True to her word, the offending restraints clicked and dropped to the floor. But Voxel didn’t feel relief at the sensation of the collar coming off. He staggered, hand on his head. Everything was swimming as the power he had been restricted from came flooding back in like a tsunami. He retched a little. He dropped to a crouch and put both hands on the floor until the room became still and moving no longer made him feel like he was on the world’s worst roller coaster.   
  
__ “Impressive… You do recover quite fast. But now I think we can begin, don’t you?”   
“Begin?? Begin what-?!”   
A door slid open, and a black drone came out. It had four arms, two equipped with wicked claws and the other two with club-like appendages. Voxel stood up, half bent over and summoned an extra pair of arms with a growl. Right. Begin that. The two met in a clash of steel and claws, each trying to push the other back in their test of strength. The pink light in its forehead seemed like a good place to start. Before his feet could give way, Voxel jerked his head sideways and headbutted the drone right where the light shone from. He felt glass crunch under the point of one horn, and the robot went limp under his grip. He jerked his head back and grinned as he threw it towards the one-way window with a spin. He cracked his knuckles and stretched his arms out in front of him.   
“That all you got??”   
In response, several more drones came through the door. Voxel cursed lowly.   
Him and his big mouth.

What felt like minutes passed as he brawled his way through wave after wave of robots. Some had lasers rather than the clubs, others had flamethrowers, and one he was pretty sure had a hand made entirely out of needles. That was destroyed before he could find out. Broken parts littered the floor and Voxel slumped in exhaustion. The fire in his eyes refused to die out. The voice of Prias soon drifted out.   
_ “Impressive work Kuas- Or perhaps Voxel, as you call yourself now? You destroyed almost all of my test drones. And it appears you still refrain from showing me just what else you’ve learned in your time on the archipelago. The last subject to stand in there… well. They didn’t make it past wave 13. Still. Don’t rest yet. We are not stopping until I get what I am looking for. However many days of testing that takes. I recommend that you prepare yourself.” _   
He watched as several of the robot parts were dragged across the floor and into the gap on the wall by mechanical claws, providing a semi-clean area to work with. The other walls expanded outwards and the room doubled in size. Voxel readied all four of his fists in front of him and grimaced. The fact that it was so large didn’t mean anything good about whatever was going to come out of the door.

Large thuds hit the ground and a keening metallic shriek hit the air like nails on a chalkboard. Voxel clapped one pair of hands over his head, yelling. It hurt to listen to. The door slowly began to slide open, until a creature forced the mechanisms open, and burst out. It was like something from a horror movie. It looked like a Shape. Once anyway. A metal contraption covered its head with green and red wires poking into the scarred and sore skin around it. A spiked tail thrashed about as a club and quills rattled on it’s back. Stumpy paws with large claws remained at their feet with the back pair having a long sickle-like claw where the toe might have been. Thick skin covered its body. Voxel stepped back as it’s head swung around, sharp teeth exposed to the air and all too pointed in his direction. Luckily, it didn’t seem able to see. The downside, it seemed to smell and hear just fine. He dived out of the way from its charge, bringing up an arm to block the flinging tail and losing an arm in the process. He felt the brief flash of pain that usually accompanied an arm being lost by anything other than his own ability and hissed as he rolled away. The summoned arm was soon back in place but the ache remained.  
The creature wasted no time in turning around and pouncing on the Shape as he had his back to the floor. Voxel had a split second to grab the two front paws trying to crush him and hold back the jaws snapping at his face with the other pair. Sweat beaded on his brow and he yelled as he felt the pressure increase. Pink blood dripped down the arms holding the teeth apart as they started to sink into his palms with the beast slowly gaining ground. Voxel’s grim determination began to waver. He was doubting if he would make it by now. He thought of home...   
_Ba-dump._  
His eye narrowed with the pupil so slit it was barely visible. His teeth bared into a feral snarl, he gripped harder. One foot planted against the ground and screaming with the effort, he pushed himself backwards and slowly, slowly stood up. No… No! HE WAS NOT DYING HERE!  
_Ba-dump._  
The horns on his head began to grow. The second pair started to grow in. His skull started to stretch and change as the rest of him started to look very, very different. If he were to die here… so far from home… he’d never forgive himself! He wasn’t gonna lose to some psycho scientist!! **HE WAS GONNA GET HOME EVEN IF HE HAD TO TEAR THROUGH EVERY GUARD ON THE WAY THERE!  
** **  
** He roared and grabbed the creature’s arms with extreme force, forcing it to step onto its hind legs. The angry shrieks only fueled the feat he intended to do. With a good deal of effort, Voxel stepped forward, grabbed it around the neck, and let himself fall backwards. The movement swept the monster up into the air and slammed it head-first into the ground enough to crack the tiles. But he was nowhere near finished. With one last push, Voxel punched it’s jaw upwards and made it stand up again from the force. He could see the realisation in its eyes as he jumped to meet it. The Boss brought all four fists together and smacked them onto its skull, the crack in the tiles now a small crater with the impact of the now-unconscious creature. He landed and stared at its limp body as it breathed heavy and wheezing breaths. He won. He won. With the adrenaline rush over though, he could feel his body trying to advance further than it already had gone. He groaned and keeled over with arms gripping his stomach. The intercom crackled.  
_“There we go. Was that so hard?”_  
He wheezed and tried to hold it back. N- No, no, this is what she wanted- He couldn’t-  
Voxel’s heart began to calm as he tried his best to breathe. He had to stop. He had to stop. Slowly, slowly, it ground to a halt. He gasped for air as he lay there. He could still feel the tail there, and all the changes that had happened before he could stop it. And he didn’t appear to be reverting. He struggled to his feet, glaring at the two-way mirror with a venom he hadn’t quite gotten to before.  
_“Apparently so. How… disappointing. And yet so interesting at once. At least I know it was you who took the working sample for certain by now, hmm? Shackles back on, Voxel. Collar too. Unless you are so eager to test further?”_  
He stooped to the floor and scooped them up, still glaring as he shoved them on his wrists and neck. Prias laughed with a light and toxic timbre.  
_“I have a feeling you and I are going to do great things together.”_

The guard was the same Shape from before he noticed. But the Boss found a small amount of pleasure in the face Prias made when he spat something that was NOT saliva on her lab coat. His grin was almost predatory. The guard quickly shoved the blind over his eyes and pushed him ahead. As he was escorted back to his room Voxel kept stumbling and dragging his feet. This new form was nothing like he could control before, his tail flailing to try and counterbalance on instinct despite the stumbles not even being that bad. He wasn’t used to the strange elevated position his feet had taken. Eyes raked over him like he was something in a cage to be stared at for their interest. The murmuring was all too clear to him now, this halfway point between that thing and his usual look he was stuck in, refused to let him have a moment of quiet with the enhanced senses.

_ “What happened to him??” _ _  
_ _ “I heard they brought him in because he went crazy.” _

_ “He’s just a monster now…” _

Each word stung like a bullet. He kept his head low and tried not to listen. He’d get out. He had to hold onto that thought. He was a Boss. He could get out. He would- He had to get back to his friends. He had to go home. He was unresisting as he got into his room, the cuffs coming off but not the collar like before. The door slammed shut behind him and Voxel slumped against it. His head had to rest at a funny angle thanks to the horns, and his tail got in the way as he slowly slid down the cold metal surface. He knew there was a mirror in the bathroom opposite. He’d rather not look at whatever awaited him there. The Shape already knew what was gonna meet him. A twisted, monstrous reflection of himself. Pink claws gently felt around his facial features. Three pairs of horns. The longest ones crooked, and the other two much closer to how his single pair usually looked. And the jaw was split too. Mandibles either side of his face.  
Voxel pulled his knees up to his chest, folded his arms and rested his face in the small hollow.   
Treeangle be damned…   
He really missed home right now.


	8. Landfall.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the journey is made, stowaways are dragged into messes, and an ally gets a rude welcome.

The ship was a bustle of activity as the group worked tirelessly to prepare for the maiden voyage. There was a sort of organised chaos to it all, Captain noted. They didn’t particularly like things being too neat. It never felt right on any of their trips. There was room for error that way to boot. A light pressure on their shoulder made them aware they were not alone from their inspecting of the boat’s mechanisms.   
“Ye should be helping the others ya know.”   
“I thought you needed it more.”   
A dry laugh reached the young flyer’s ears.   
“Ye know me Pi. I ain’t some trainee who’s still wet b‘hind his ears.”

The Shape smiled and crouched next to them. “Not what I’d say. I can remember every crash you had.”   
“And I remember ev’ry time ye had to land because that fancy flight thing o’ yers stalled.”

“Touche.”

The seasoned sailor stood, yanking hard on the knot tying the sail down.

“Don’t we need that sail up?”

“Not if we got ourselves an engine. The thing would jus’ drag on our speed and if we go fast… prob’ly snap tha mast.”

Pilot’s nose scrunched up. “Ouch...”

“Ouch.” Captain agreed. “Ouch indeed. Still. Ye got a great captain. Best in th’ archipelago.”   
Pilot nudged them with a wry smile. “Oh really? Where are they then?”   
Captain bowed their head with one hand obscuring their face, Pilot tilting their head back with their light laughter. The sailor soon recovered and got up from one knee, offering a hand to assist the high flyer beside them to their feet.

“Treeangle above… I should throw ye overboard.” They shook their head, a smile on their face. The other Shape beside them said nothing, and simply followed Captain to the bell beside the wheel with light and graceful movements as always. The air soon filled with the pealed out notes of metal clanging on metal, calling the attention of the Shapes working above and below deck. Pilot left a hand on Captain’s shoulder only briefly before they went to let Cube sit up on their shoulders. The smaller shape happily rested their head atop Pilots own, head turned to Captain with rapt attention.

“Right lads! Tis time fer us to set sail! I may not be one fer speeches… but I must speak me mind. I ain’t too keen on this. And I would rather not see ye hurt. But those Corrupt took one of our own, and that ain’t something I stand by. So here, I tell ye my friends, you will be able to count on me to get ye there. We’re like bass hounds. One of our flock gets taken, we ain’t standin’ by! So let’s go get that pink idiot back!”   
Despite the high spirits of those moving to take a seat, in the back, Captain could see Tri rolling their eyes. And yet a faint smile played on their lips. Even the seasoned sailor had to admit. The speech was rather bad. At least it did the job. The gangplank was raised, tied to the railings to make sure it was not lost. And the boat chugged on with the new engine purring like a kitten.

 

The sound of the water slapping against the hull was lulling to the Shape hiding in the bottom of the boat. He fought back a yawn, eyes bulging and face going red. He’d spent his life looking for something exciting to do, and the Incident was exactly what he’d been looking for. Only not in the way he’d hoped. Whatever. He was (mostly) fine now, and none of his Flower-y brethren could stop him! He was on his way! With the threatening yawn repressed, the Shape closed their eyes in thought for a moment. Watching light come through the gaps in the old barrel through his eyelids and and shifting in the coils of rope he’d hidden in.

“What is this voyage for…?”

The not-quite-a-Flower frowned. He’d seen a fight break out from afar. And some kind of weird bird. Then tow of the Shapes had come to the volcano and riled up Barracuda. And no-one but him could do that as well! So he followed them to the ship and snuck aboard, grinning. The situation was still a mystery but to him it was a voyage into new lands! Though maybe it could be bad. A sea monster? No. Probably would be worse if the Legendary Shapes were getting involved… Whatever! He could take whatever was thrown at him. He was a strong guy! He wasn’t afraid…   
A yawn escaped the Flower’s mouth, and he turned, shedding off his jacket into a makeshift blanket on feeling the slight cold in his warm little hideout. He wouldn’t fall asleep. He wouldn’t get caught, not ever…. No… Not at a  l l…   
The barrel rested quietly amongst the others like it in the bottom of the boat currently heading out to a forgotten land. And light snores filled it from the sleeping Lycanthropy resting within, unaware of what might happen.

 

Circle sat next to Cube, watching the others get to work. They had considered assisting and it was not laziness! They just weren’t entirely sure that they wouldn’t get in the way of the tasks better suited to anyone who wasn’t them. The smallest and the youngest Legendary Shape looked to their friend, and smiled. They were pretty amazing. Circle rarely felt the Corruption from them nowadays. Cube was always hard at work keeping it in check, and they never knew just how strong that made them. 

“What is it Circle?”   
They hung their head suddenly and hunched their shoulders, face going a bright red-orange. They’d been staring too long.   
“N-nothing!! J-just, uh. Uh. Fly, in your, y-your hair. Gone now.”

“...Oh! Well, thank you…?”   
Nice job. You weirded out your awesome friend. The Shape’s response was rather high pitched.   
_ “...Thanks.” _

The awkward silence had to be ended. But what to say?? Comment on the weather? On the journey?? What to do, what to do-??   
“Rock barrier ahead!!”   
They slumped and sighed with the terse silence gone. Thank Treeangle for that. The Shape ran to the prow, and their mouth dropped open. The sky had a huge circular storm, as if the sky itself was trying to match the boiling of the ocean that surrounded it. White water was all they could see. Dark and foreboding spires reached out to pierce the very air itself, the razor-sharp look enough to make one think twice about attempting the climb.

The ocean beyond the spires was strangely calm, though sharing the dark water one would usually associate with a storm. Captain brought the boat to a halt behind them. Circle tried to swallow the lump building in their throat. They had to pass THAT?!   
They found themselves soon part of the small crowd that had formed at the bow of the ship, Pilot actually perching on the point of the bowsprit, closest to the formidable maelstrom that threatened the ship should it got any further. They looked back at Captain, and shook their head. That weather was not safe. Circle saw Cube tense at the action, about to try and beg for a way through. Circle winced. No, No, they had to help!   
The humming of the idle engine was so loud, it drowned out their thoughts.   
The engine…

The engine!!   
Circle heard their companions calling after them as they thundered down into the bowels of the ship. They heard footsteps follow. They bumped into a barrel, tipping it over and releasing the coils of rope and cloth within. They paid no mind to the odd sound it made when it fell.

The engine rested comfortably where it had always been meant to be. In the very heart of the ship, Circle reached for the compartment that held the Treeangle’s piece. The power they felt up their arms and through their entire being was like a static shock.

Yet they never dropped it. They raced past a shocked Pentagon, Square and Captain, joining the others on deck.   
Circle looked into the piece. And it looked into them.

‘I want to help Cube.’

Blinding white lightning raced through them into the deck, through the wood into the water, and raced into the jagged rock spires.   
The waters calmed in a clear path, the rocks now long since obliterated into dust.

Circle let the piece go, sinking to one knee. They felt overwhelmed. What was that? What  _ was _ that?? Cube raced to their side, helping the shaken Shape up as the piece returned to the engine.

“That was amazing!!!”   
Circle only could dumbly nod as Captain spurred the boat onwards.

It really was… wasn’t it?

 

Square gazed into the water, shaken by the display of power that they all had witnessed. It was like Circle had not taken it in, but rather  _ channeled _ it. They had never done something like that when using its power. They had always taken it into themselves and used it outwardly, like a battery. They thought for a bit.

_ Channeling… _

A epiphany hit.

They didn’t share the same talents. So why would they share the same abilities when using the Treeangle, or its shards?   
Square could absorb and use the power outwardly like a weapon. Circle could channel it’s power like a lightning rod. Square had the talent of creating a weak version of the TIO cannons they had used in the incident. Circle could heal Corrupted using energy they sometimes never had. The correlation was too much of a coincidence to ignore.

So just what would Pentagon and Triangle do? Square would have to check later. Perhaps when they needed it, it would become apparent. They gazed into the water some more, mouth in a thin line and eyes cloudy with the reflection of the endless deep blue. They noticed unusual spiralling shapes in the water, darker, yet reflective. Their eyes widened.   
What kind of technology was this? Was it the thing making the waters churn unnaturally? Before the Shape could further investigate, they had passed the ring of sharp stones, and the air was filled with a sharp yell from Triangle below deck.

“STOWAWAY!!!”

 

Up in the radio tower nearest the sea barriers, A Corrupt yawned. Their name was Tokyo. And they were bored out of their mind. The Commander (who had the honour of most boring name on the Isle. Who the hell wanted to be called Steve out of all the cooler names?) said she had to stay up here. Her bad actions meant nothing to her. So what if she added some extras to the prosthetics she made? She rolled her eyes. A jet boosted punch was easy to master, so what if there were some broken bones in the process?

She watched the radar with a carefully blank expression. Everyone who worked in the military here knew that you didn’t speak your mind unless you were outside, or had a way to turn off the bugs planted around. She liked the security as much as anyone else who had been around as frequently as her. So when she spotted the blinking light… Tokyo pretended not to see.

A scant few people knew this place was a prison. Not to keep them safe. To keep them placid. IF there were people from the outside, and IF they could rattle things up… maybe they could leave.

So Tokyo watched the blip with a bored expression, and watched the boat pass the deserted area by, making for land. She’d not seen blue in a long time. It would make landfall not too far from here, considering they were trying not to be seen. She’d go and introduce herself on her scheduled break. With a deft few taps cleverly hidden from the cameras by her back, she deleted all the info that a boat had come in and replaced it with the usual constant ‘no detection’ automated message.

Commander Steve could suck it.   
She wanted to break the rules for a long time now, and she’d love to meet some REAL people.

 

Lycanthropy seemed to wither as they neared the pink and magenta landscape. Then again, so did everyone. The stowaway was honestly wondering if coming was a bad plan. But it was too late now, and they were already there. The boat gently stopped at the end of the river they’d followed inland, into a decent-sized lagoon. The trees were thick here. And the cover they provided with the strange leaning over the water would hide them from above. The Flower stuck close behind the group, still apprehensive about letting someone who knew nothing of a real fight into the possible fray.

He could handle it, he thought while tugging on his collar. He could do it. The leather of it began to rub, and he let go. The leader of the group, Square, had not kept his eyes off the trees as they secured what they needed and got ready. They’d all noticed that the Corruption here was… absolute. More shockingly was the lack of ambient music. So far a cry from the constant white noise of gentle tunes on the breeze back home.

And for good reason. He clapped his hands once, and pointed to the trees. They had company. Immediately, they ran for cover. Lycanthropy went pink, and practically cannonballed into the fuschia water before he could be seen. The gentle currents were easy to see through, but he made his way to some reeds to spy all the same. He thanked evolution for letting Flowers be able to breathe somewhat in water.

The Shapes tensed on seeing someone land, looking around with a propellor retracting into their back. Pilot’s hand went to their own in recognition. The Corrupt Shape strolled through the grass, eyeing the boat almost instantly. And yet, they did not flinch when Square grabbed them from behind and aimed one hand cannon at her face.

“Well. Is this how you introduce yourselves where you’re from?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this took so long guys!! I had to make the chapter from scratch on seeing how off the rails it went, and it knocked me into writer's block. Hope this makes up for it!!


	9. Author's note

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE READ THIS!!!

ALRIGHT LADIES.  
  
Here's the news. I'm rewriting Corruption.  
Don't take this as a discontinuation!! I want to keep writing, but this fic is a bit of a tangled mess, and I honestly have just been flying by the seat of my pants on the plot and events.  
I am absolutely going to continue this. Just not here.

The new fic will likely have a new title, a cover, changed Voxel design and probably not appear for some time.

THIS FIC WILL STILL BE UP FOR YALL TO READ!!

Thanks for taking the time to read, and see you all soon (hopefully)!!


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